Ex-Test spinner MacGill to learn fate over coke deal
Four years after he was violently kidnapped after a drug deal gone wrong, former Australian Test cricket star Stuart MacGill is set to learn his fate.
The former legspinner, who turned to cocaine after cricket, was found guilty in March of supplying an indictable quantity of the drug after a $330,000 exchange in April 2021.
A jury determined the 54-year-old knew about the deal between his regular dealer and his brother-in-law but was oblivious to the fact a one kilogram brick was changing hands.
He was acquitted of taking part in a large commercial drug supply.
MacGill is due to face Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday to be sentenced for his role in the lucrative cocaine deal, which led to his violent kidnapping days later.
The $330,000 deal between Person A and Marino Sotiropoulos - the brother of MacGill's then-partner - went smoothly, the jury was told.
MacGill had become a trusted customer of Person A, from whom he regularly bought cocaine in half-gram quantities for $200.
But the jury heard that trust was broken when Person A decided to rip off Sotiropoulos's associates in a second deal and disappear with cocaine worth $660,000.
Demands for the location of Person A or the return of the money were made before the former Test bowler was kidnapped later in April.
He was shoved into the back of a car by several men and taken to an abandoned building in Bringelly, in Sydney's west, where he was assaulted and threatened before being released.
Six days later, the former cricketing great went to police but denied any involvement in the drug deal.
He was arrested in 2023.
MacGill retired from cricket in 2008 after playing 44 Tests during which he claimed 208 scalps.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Sydney man charged after allegedly tricking family on overseas trip, leaving wife and one-year-old stranded in Pakistan
A husband has been charged after allegedly abandoning his wife and young child overseas, leaving them stranded far from home. The 45-year-old man from southwest Sydney faced court on Wednesday accused of taking his family on a trip to Pakistan in August last year before returning to Australia alone. It is alleged he deceived his wife into travelling with their one-year-old baby, then took the child's passport and left them at the airport. He allegedly retained possession of the child's passport, making it difficult for the child — an Australian citizen — to return home. The wife was eventually able to return in February and reported the matter to police. A search warrant was executed at a home on Wednesday, with officers seizing electronic devices and documents. The man has since been charged with two counts of trafficking a person from Australia using deception and one count of using someone's identity online. The trafficking charges each carry a maximum penalty of 12 years in jail if convicted, while the identity offence carries up to five years if convicted. AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Needham said the case is being treated as a potential 'exit trafficking' offence. 'Carrying out actions to force or encourage someone to travel overseas and then impede their ability to return to Australia can be a serious criminal offence, and the AFP will not hesitate to act when we have evidence of criminal actions,' Needham said. 'Exit trafficking offences quite often occur within family units or in situations where close relationships have disintegrated, and there is a concern these types of offences are under-reported in Australia. 'The AFP encourages anyone who suspects they, or someone they know, has been a victim of exit trafficking to come forward. 'All complaints will be taken seriously and appropriately assessed with dignity, and the AFP can help victims obtain the support and assistance they require.'
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Trafficking charges as man accused of stranding family
A man accused of deceptively convincing his wife and child to travel to Pakistan with him before ditching them at the airport is set to face court on human trafficking charges. The 45-year-old southwest Sydney man allegedly travelled with the family members in August 2024 before cancelling his wife's Australian visa and retaining his child's passport, police say. He then came back to Australia that same month. The wife subsequently returned to Australia in February and reported the matter to authorities, who helped the one-year-old child also return. The man was arrested at a home in Austral in southwest Sydney, on Wednesday and charged with human trafficking offences. He faces two counts of trafficking a person by using deception, and a single count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. The maximum penalty for the trafficking offence is a 12-year jail sentence. The man was set to face the Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. Federal police urged anyone who had been through something similar to contact authorities. "Carrying out actions to force or encourage someone to travel overseas and then impede their ability to return to Australia can be a serious criminal offence," Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Needham said. "(Federal police) will not hesitate to act when we have evidence of criminal actions. "Exit trafficking offences quite often occur within family units or in situations where close relationships have disintegrated. "There is a concern these types of offences are under-reported in Australia." In September, a different man was hit with similar charges, accused of convincing his wife and children to fly to Pakistan with him under the guise of seeing family, before returning to Australia with their passports and visas.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Trafficking charges as man accused of stranding family
A man accused of deceptively convincing his wife and child to travel to Pakistan with him before ditching them at the airport is set to face court on human trafficking charges. The 45-year-old southwest Sydney man allegedly travelled with the family members in August 2024 before cancelling his wife's Australian visa and retaining his child's passport, police say. He then came back to Australia that same month. The wife subsequently returned to Australia in February and reported the matter to authorities, who helped the one-year-old child also return. The man was arrested at a home in Austral in southwest Sydney, on Wednesday and charged with human trafficking offences. He faces two counts of trafficking a person by using deception, and a single count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. The maximum penalty for the trafficking offence is a 12-year jail sentence. The man was set to face the Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. Federal police urged anyone who had been through something similar to contact authorities. "Carrying out actions to force or encourage someone to travel overseas and then impede their ability to return to Australia can be a serious criminal offence," Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Needham said. "(Federal police) will not hesitate to act when we have evidence of criminal actions. "Exit trafficking offences quite often occur within family units or in situations where close relationships have disintegrated. "There is a concern these types of offences are under-reported in Australia." In September, a different man was hit with similar charges, accused of convincing his wife and children to fly to Pakistan with him under the guise of seeing family, before returning to Australia with their passports and visas.
